Short Synopsis
From Mark Woods comes Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks—a book about family, the legacies we inherit, and the ones we leave behind.

Full Synopsis
Many childhood summers, Mark Woods piled into a station wagon with his parents and two sisters and headed to America's national parks. Mark's most vivid childhood memories are set against a backdrop of mountains, woods, and fireflies in places like Redwood, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon national parks.

On the eve of turning fifty and a little burned out, Mark decided to reconnect with the great outdoors. He'd spend a year visiting the national parks. He planned to take his mother to a park she'd not yet visited and to re-create his childhood trips with his wife and their iPad-generation daughter.

But then the unthinkable happened: his mother was diagnosed with cancer, given just months to live. Mark had initially intended to write a book about the future of the national parks, but Lassoing the Sun grew into something more: a book about family, the parks, the legacies we inherit, and the ones we leave behind.

"Woods makes a clear case for the significant power of the parks on our collective and personal psyches. A deeply heartfelt story about why the national parks remain so integral to the American story." ---Booklist

"Earnest and heartfelt, [Lassoing the Sun] captures how one family handles the joys and sorrows of life, with American’s most beautiful landscapes standing in the background." ---Travel and Leisure

"This travel memoir will appeal to readers who love the outdoors. Those who would rather stay inside with a good book will be touched by the story of a mother and son saying their goodbyes." ---Library Journal